Name
Developing and Evaluating “Paraben-Free & Me”: An Educational Toolkit that Targets Parabens Exposure Reduction from Personal Care Products
Date & Time
Thursday, May 22, 2025, 10:30 AM - 10:45 AM
Description
Women use an average of 13 personal care products (PCPs) daily, exposing them to 114 different chemicals. Exposure to parabens, found in cosmetics and hair products as preservatives and fragrance ingredients, has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and endocrine disorders. Regulatory approaches to parabens in PCPs vary, with stricter restrictions in Europe compared to Canada, where their use remains largely unregulated. As a result of a lack of regulations, women often assume PCPs that contain parabens are safe. Findings from a recent study suggest that women in Ontario have low risk perceptions regarding 6 harmful chemicals commonly used in PCPs and household products, with 28% indicating that they were not aware of parabens. To reduce Canadian women’s exposure to parabens, it is important to increase their knowledge, risk perceptions, beliefs, and avoidance behaviour. This study aims to develop an evidence-informed educational toolkit that reduces women’s exposure to parabens and evaluate its effectiveness among female students in Ontario, following the IDEAS framework for digital interventions. Phase 1 involves conducting a systematic review that explores the characteristics of existing environmental health-related educational toolkits and the data collection methods for evaluating effectiveness. Guided by the Health Belief Model and this review, phase 2 involves developing an educational toolkit in the form of a smartphone application to increase women’s knowledge, risk perception, beliefs, and avoidance behaviours related to parabens in PCPs. Phase 3 evaluates the effectiveness of the educational toolkit through a four-week randomized controlled trial by assessing changes in participants’ knowledge, risk perception, beliefs, and behaviours.
Location Name
Mackenzie (ME) 3356
Session Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract ID
202
Speaker Name
Graziella De Michino
Speaker Organization
Ontario Tech University
Session Name
CS140 Geographies of Health and Health Policy